Current propaganda // Current

added
3 months ago

Fox Execs: We are not real news

Fox News defends itself against an attack by the Obama administration by explaining that most of their shows aren't real... more

JulianCommongold
added this

Public still blames Bush for recession

President Obama nicely positioned to take credit for recovery By Gabriel Winant In the long view, how the economy is doing... more

RFIDemocracy
added this

Obama stimulus plan delivers 650,000 jobs; saves economy

Obama stimulus plan delivers 650,000 jobs; saves economy http://bit.ly/1xNJq7 President Obama's stimulus plan delivers... more

locutus
added this

Obama's stimulus numbers look promising

FROM THE NEWS BLOG:
The Obama Administration has released its first broad report on jobs created or saved by the stimulus program. Focused on $150 billion in spending of the total $787 billion package, the report estimates that around 640,000 jobs have been created or saved nation-wide. The numbers are controversial, with Republicans already claiming that they're a bit to optimistic. But the actual impact of the stimulus dollars has proven difficult to nail down.

The Obama administration continued to maintain that the actual number of jobs created so far is closer to 1 million. The reports did not reflect measures such as tax cuts, boosted unemployment benefits or jobs created indirectly by stimulus spending. A total of $339 billion has been drawn down so far under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

"Every dollar being spent from Recovery Act is helping put someone back to work," said Vice President Joe Biden, citing 80,000 construction jobs and 325,000 education positions created or saved by stimulus funds. "My message today is that we're on track."

Probably the best reporting on the subject out there comes from our friends at ProPublica who have been tracking the stimulus program all year.

We're keeping an eye on jobs and joblessness during the recession, so these numbers are definitely of interest to us. We've seen a few personal stories from users here on Current:
User diabolical44 writes:
"I graduated college with a Bachelors degree in May of 2008. The economy went to complete shit soon there after. Now , almost a year and a half later, I still have no job. I've worked here and there, waiting tables, delivering pizza, packing boxes in a warehouse, but no real job. No career to speak of. No sign of hope either."

Anyone out there gotten work thanks to the stimulus program? Tell us your story.

News Blog post: http://blogs.current.com/news/2009/10/30/obamas-stimulus-numbers-look-promising/
ProPublica's Stimulus coverage: http://www.propublica.org/ion/stimulus
The White House's stimulus page: http://www.recovery.gov/FROM THE NEWS BLOG: The Obama Administration has released its first broad report on jobs created or saved by the stimulus... more

afitzgerald
added this

34 comments

added
3 months ago

Jon Stewart takes Fox News Apart

If you never watch another Daily Show, this clip is a must see: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-october-29-2009/for-fox-sake-

neocongo
added this

76 comments

added
4 months ago

We Have Until 2014 To Stop Global Warming

It’s no secret that the world is warming, but a new report published by the World Wildlife Fund suggests we may not have as much time to mull solutions as we think. If the world doesn’t commit to green technologies by 2014, the report says, runaway global warming and economic meltdown are all but unstoppable.

Written by a group at the experts at Australian insurance consultancy Climate Risk, the transformation to a low-carbon world requires an effort “greater than any other industrial transformation witnessed in our history.” At minimum, the world needs to embrace – and by embrace, they mean to the absolute maximum – low-carbon technologies by 2014. A minimum growth in all green industries of 22% a year is necessary to achieve that goal, according to their research, and that’s just to cut emissions to 63% of 1990 levels by 2020.

But the WWF has more ambitious plans: a reduction to 80% of 1990 levels by 2050, an industrial revolution that would require growths between 24% and 29% every year. This is the best way to stave off the doomsday scenario of 2 degree Celsius (about 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) warming across the board, according to the report. Unfortunately, we have a long way to go.

The research relied on complex Monte Carlo models of industrial growth, resource allocation, and technological advance, but the basic reasoning is thus: total greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere are estimated 463 parts per million. Scientific research shows that a good comfortable spot for our atmosphere is about 400 ppm. But at around 475 ppm, a threshold that we are dangerously close to crossing, runaway climate change becomes increasingly more likely, at which point it will be difficult if not impossible to put the brakes on global warming.

Now, having said all that, it’s important to note that this isn’t the first doomsday climate change scenario to emerge, especially recently. Just today, two British Cabinet ministers showed off their own doomsday map, detailing rising sea levels and submerged cities that would result from a 4 degree Celsius (7.2 degree Fahrenheit) rise in global temps. President Obama has pledged a greenhouse gas reduction of 80 percent by 2050 (an easy promise to make with a two term limit), while the EU has stated that it will match those efforts if a deal is sealed at December’s UN climate change conference in Copenhagen.

But the WWF report, if taken seriously, places a new urgency on the issue. For one, most climate strategies rely upon an incremental ratcheting down of emissions while slowly transitioning to low-carbon sources of energy all the way up to 2050. According to WWF, this schedule simply won’t hack it. Further, WWF points out that only three of the 20 green technologies they’ve reviewed are moving forward fast enough to hit the 2014 deadline: wind, solar, and biodiesel. Other technological initiatives like low-carbon agriculture, sustainable forestry, and other forms of green energy generation are sorely lacking. The outlook, it seems, is dim.

What happens if we miss the deadline? According to the WWF report, from there things become increasingly difficult. Post-2014, low-carbon industries will need to grow at a minimum of 29% per year, and that’s just to have a better than 50% chance of staving off that nearly 4-degree Fahrenheit spike in global temperatures. But the news isn’t all bad: while the transition will be tough, long term investment in green energies should pay off, with renewable energy savings alone in the period between 2013 and 2050 expected to hit $47 trillion if we cut by 80 percent, a positive number among many grim figures.It’s no secret that the world is warming, but a new report published by the World Wildlife Fund suggests we may not have as... more

pjacobs51
added this

33 comments

added
4 months ago

New study finds 45,000 deaths annually linked to lack of health coverage | HarvardScience

For those who feel that what Representative Alan Grayson had to say to Congress in recent days about the number of uninsured dying... more

hollyMiamiFla
added this

Current propaganda 11 items | updated 2 months ago

Climategate: Gates that are not gates (Commentary)

Obama's many victories defined 2009 now 2010 looks...

Stars Who Smoke Weed

Japan loves Obama so much they gave him his own verb

Fox Execs: We are not real news

12 comments

Public still blames Bush for recession

98 comments

Obama stimulus plan delivers 650,000 jobs; saves economy

36 comments

Obama's stimulus numbers look promising

34 comments

Jon Stewart takes Fox News Apart

76 comments

We Have Until 2014 To Stop Global Warming

33 comments

New study finds 45,000 deaths annually linked to lack of health coverage | HarvardScience

12 comments

about

group leaders (2)

related

current videos

Top 5 "I Love You's" in the Movies

Taboo: Forbidden Television

The Super Bowl Sucks!

Top 5 Grammy Moments

Sexiest R&B Jams

Douchey-Doo! Pool Party Mystery

about current

watch current

the people are talking

the basics

take us with you

tools

stay in touch

© 2010 Current TV, LLC
All Rights Reserved